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ECN 310
Professor:
Yngve Ramstad
Assigned books:
Rodney Fort, Sports Economics. Prentice Hall, 2003 (text).
Available at the URI Bookstore. Course Overview Professional sports has become one of the principal entertainment industries of the modern American economy. In this course we will analyze numerous economic issues related to the operation of the American sports industry, with an emphasis on professional and “unpaid professional”—that is, “big time” college—team sports. Among the specific issues to be explored are the following: What is the role of TV in shaping the evolution of professional team sports? What are the real facts about the economics of franchise ownership? Does the building of publicly owned stadiums make economic sense? Are the salaries of athletes excessive? Are athletes participating in "big-time" college team sports being economically exploited? These and other economic issues relating to the operation of the American sports industry will be examined in this class. It is understood that many students take this class solely because they are interested in sports, not because they look forward to a career in sports management, etc. Nonetheless, it should be remembered that this is an economics course, and the textbook features extensive use of economic concepts. Make sure you understand that the purpose of this course is to provide you with exposure to, and practice in, employing economic abstractions and tools of analysis (all important concepts will be reviewed during lectures). Put somewhat differently, you cannot expect to do well in this course unless you demonstrate an ability to probe issues systematically via economic reasoning. Assuming you are successful in so doing, you will undoubtedly find that you have gained new insight into professional team sports. The text. The text is by Rodney Fort, who teaches sports economics at Washington State University. He is a recognized authority in the field of baseball economics. The text features extensive use of conventional economic theory. The important concepts will be reviewed in lectures. You should make some effort to ensure that you understand any models that are both presented in the book and reviewed in class. Taking time to work the Thought Problems at the end of each chapter will help you retain the concepts developed in the chapter. You will be required on exams to apply the abstract logic of the models presented in class to hypothetical or “real world” questions. Regular class attendance and solid class notes will be an absolute necessity for doing well in this class. Course requirements. (1) Two “midterm” exams to be answered in-class (closed-book, closed notes), (2) an in-class final exam, (3) two short papers (three pages) on assigned topics to be announced when the assignment is distributed to the class, (4) a six- to ten-page course paper, and (4) participation in an in-class debate with a classmate. Prerequisite. Either ECN 100, ECN 201, an equivalent course or, under exceptional circumstances, permission of the instructor. Examinations. As noted, there will be two midterms and a comprehensive in-class final exam. The midterms are scheduled for October 17 and November 21 and the final for 8:00 a.m. on December 16. Exams will require you to analyze specific sports issues, some hypothetical and some taken from the “real world.” In order to answer exam questions adequately, you will need to use tools of analysis explained in the class to provide an abstract representation of the problem at hand. Please recognize that your task on in-class exams is to demonstrate that you understand and know how to apply the concepts introduced in this class —not to demonstrate your knowledge of sports information. Short papers. The two short papers are intended to be an instrument allowing you to synthesize course material. The specific assignments and their due dates will be determined later in the semester as circumstances warrant. You will be given at least one week to complete each of these papers. Course paper. As indicated, you are required to complete a course paper. This semester I am assigning you to review a sports book aimed at a more general audience. Specifically, you will have to read and review Phil Schaaf’s book, Sports, Inc. You can probably order a used copy at an attractive price from Amazon.com. In Sports, Inc., Schaaf tries to analyze “sports business” issues without explicitly using economic logic. In your paper, I want you to assess the suitability of Schaaf’s analysis, that is, the degree to which Schaaf provides the reader, using non-specialist language, with a coherent statement of the “economic” logic underlying the issues he discusses. In order to do this well, you will first have to provide a reasonable statement of Schaaf’s chief contentions. The paper should be six to ten pages in length (typed and double-spaced). The paper is due at the beginning of our final class meeting of the semester. Your grade will be based on (1) the comprehensiveness and quality of your summary of the book in combination with (2) the insight reflected in your assessment of the economics education it implicitly imparts to the layman. Detailed information on this assignment will be made available in early November. Let me add my advice that you do not read Schaaf’s book until then, as you will not have a properly developed basis for evaluating his argument prior to our working through course concepts in class. In-class debate. You are required to participate in an in-class debate against a classmate on an assigned topic. Specific assignments will be made via a random process. Participants for the first two debates will be selected on at our September 12 class meeting. The remainder will be assigned the following week when the class roster is firmer. The first debate is scheduled for September 16. You should understand that the debate is a significant factor—15 percent—in determining your course grade and that I accordingly expect you to put a lot of work into preparing for it. (Most instructors assume that students will put in two hours out of class for every hour in class and that they will “invest” additional time to study for exams and write course papers. Fifteen percent (15%) of this is a significant block of time). Please understand it is my desire that you center your arguments to the greatest extent appropriate on “economic” aspects of the assigned topic and that, to the degree possible, you emphasize economic reasoning in developing your contentions. A few facts accompanied by superficial reasoning will not be considered sufficient. Based on the aforementioned considerations, I will characterize your debate performance as “grossly unsatisfactory,” “weak,” “average,” “good,” or “outstanding.” Grades of F, D, C, B, and A will correspond to these characterizations. Course grade. The following weighting will be used in determining your course grade. Please understand that they may be altered, with advice and consent from the class, should circumstances warrant.
Midterms 25% (15% for highest grade; 10% for the lowest grade) Final exam 25% Short papers 15% (7 1/2% each) Course paper 20% Debate 15%
It is only fair to tell you that I consider an "A" to be a grade reserved for outstanding performance. Accordingly, I do not scale the course so that a specific percentage of A's are awarded. At the same time, only infrequently do students in my upper division classes receive a D or an F. No one enrolled in this class needs to worry about a "non-performing" grade if an honest effort is put into the various activities on which you will be evaluated.
Attendance. I believe very strongly that class members owe each other the respect of being in attendance for in-class debates. Accordingly, attendance is mandatory on those days when debates are scheduled (all Friday class meetings after the first one). You will be allowed one "free" absence on a mandatory attendance day. Each additional absence on a day when attendance is mandatory will result in your course grade being reduced one "notch" (say from B to B-) from that warranted by the weighting indicated above under "course grade. You should drop this class if you are unwilling or unable to attend Friday class meetings with great regularity. As indicated, attendance is mandatory only on Fridays. I will take attendance each day, however. Your overall attendance will be the primary factor I consider when I try to decide whether or not to raise your grade should you be just below a cutoff at the end of the semester. My philosophy can be summed up this way: I’m not interested in helping someone who won’t help themself. In this course, you “help yourself” by attending class regularly. Lectures. During lectures I will often present material that is not in your text. You are responsible for knowing that material whether you attend class or not. Recommended books. Here are two recent books laden with economic content that I think you will find interesting. The first is aimed at those interested in NCAA sports, and the second at those interested in the economics of baseball. Both are available at reasonable prices from Amazon.com. Andrew Zimbalist, Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism and Conflict in Big-Time College Sports (Princeton University Press, 1999) Andrew Zimbalist, May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (The Brookings Institute, 2003) Please see me in my
office to discuss other supplementary reading.
Course Outline and Reading Assignments
My experience in past semesters suggests there is little point in my specifying the specific dates we will begin new topics. Hence I will simply announce in class when we are moving to a new topic. If time becomes a problem, you may be on your own with respect to a specific topic. Please understand that in addition to the readings itemized below, I will occasionally distribute copies of short newspaper, magazine, or journal articles on an opportunistic basis. If you are not in class when a particular selection is distributed, please prearrange to have a “class buddy” get a copy for you. Text: Fort – Sports Economics
Topic Assignment Sports and Society Text, Ch. 1 Professional sports and economic reasoning Text, Ch. 2
Television and sports Text, Ch. 3 “Bizball” (handout)
Team economics Text, Ch. 4 “A Miami Fish Story” (handout) League economics Text, Ch. 5
Athlete compensation Text, Ch.s 6 & 7
Labor relations in professional sports Text, Ch. 8
The impact of professional sports teams on local communities Text, Chs 9 & 10 “Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Real Connection” (handout) Professional team sports and public policy Text, Ch. 11 NCAA sports Text, Ch. 12
URI AAB Report on the Cost and Value
of the Intercollegiate Athletics Program The future of professional team sports “Can Pro Sports Survive Prosperity?” (handout)
Tentative Course
Debates Schedule
1. September 16 Tickets to elite-level (NFS, MLB, NBA, NHL) professional team sports competitions are too expensive. 2. September 23 British “football” provides a better framework for professional sports than the league framework used in the United States. 3. September 30 MLB and the NBA would benefit from the greater competitiveness that characterizes the NFL. 4. October 7 Frank McCourt blundered badly in paying $450 million in 1994 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 5. October 14 Baseball salaries are out of control and a firm salary cap is needed. 6. October 21 The performance of the U.S. men’s basketball team in the international play during the past decade confirms that the NBA is encouraging players to play the wrong kind of basketball. 7. October 28 Manny Rodriguez’s $22 million per year is a travesty. There’s no way a baseball player deserves that salary. 8. November 4 It’s scandalous that Washington, D.C., is going to build a $440 million publicly financed baseball stadium for the Nationals. CLASS CANCELLED ON NOVEMBER 11 – NO DEBATE SCHEDULED 9. November 18 Shoe companies (e.g., Nike and Adidas) have had a corrupting influence and should be prevented from having any direct role in the conduct of junior high, high school, and college athletics. 10. November 30 It’s time for the NCAA to bite the bullet and turn “Big-Time” basketball and football into an explicitly professional activity utilizing paid student and non-student players. 11. December 2 or 5 It’s inappropriate for URI to finance its expensive NCAA athletics program via student tuition and mandatory athletics fees; if they can’t mostly pay for themselves, URI should discontinue its NCAA sports program. 12. December 5 (if necessary) Topic to be determined later
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